Khazdural Clan
Once a respected lineage within Stormhold, the Khazdural Clan was known for its skilled miners and keen-eyed prospectors, always searching for the next great source of wealth beneath the earth. Unlike the more conservative families that preferred the safety of established strongholds, the Khazdural dwarves were pioneers, seeking fortune beyond the borders of their ancestral home. Their ambition led them westward, into the Desolate Wastes, where rumors of untapped gold veins whispered among traders and wandering stonecutters. Led by Thrain Khazdural, a visionary prospector with a reputation for finding wealth where others saw only barren stone, they settled in what would become Karak Dûr around 160 BD.
The clan was never among the largest of the dwarven families, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in expertise and tenacity. They took great pride in their mining traditions, believing that stone spoke to those who listened, and their engineers were renowned for their ability to read the veins of the rock, uncovering riches where others found only dead tunnels. Their craftsmanship, however, was secondary to their extraction work—while they could forge fine weapons and armor, their true skill lay in pulling wealth from the mountain and ensuring it found its way east to Stormhold and beyond.
For nearly two centuries, the Khazdural dwarves ruled Karak Dûr as a prosperous, if somewhat insular, hold. They maintained strong ties with Stormhold but saw themselves as independent, a people who had carved their own place in the world through sheer will and determination. However, their isolation proved their undoing. When the orcish warbands came, there were no great dwarven armies to reinforce them, no allies to send aid. By 17 AV, when the hold was abandoned, the surviving members of the Khazdural Clan fled back eastward, returning to Stormhold or scattering among other strongholds, their dreams of a lasting legacy buried beneath the ruins of their fallen home.
Though they no longer hold a seat of power, the Khazdural name endures. Among dwarves, it is spoken with both pride and sorrow, a name tied to one of the greatest lost fortunes in dwarven history. Some descendants still seek to reclaim the riches left behind in Dûrthar Chasm, while others consider Karak Dûr a grave best left undisturbed, its halls now home to something far worse than orcs.
The clan was never among the largest of the dwarven families, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in expertise and tenacity. They took great pride in their mining traditions, believing that stone spoke to those who listened, and their engineers were renowned for their ability to read the veins of the rock, uncovering riches where others found only dead tunnels. Their craftsmanship, however, was secondary to their extraction work—while they could forge fine weapons and armor, their true skill lay in pulling wealth from the mountain and ensuring it found its way east to Stormhold and beyond.
For nearly two centuries, the Khazdural dwarves ruled Karak Dûr as a prosperous, if somewhat insular, hold. They maintained strong ties with Stormhold but saw themselves as independent, a people who had carved their own place in the world through sheer will and determination. However, their isolation proved their undoing. When the orcish warbands came, there were no great dwarven armies to reinforce them, no allies to send aid. By 17 AV, when the hold was abandoned, the surviving members of the Khazdural Clan fled back eastward, returning to Stormhold or scattering among other strongholds, their dreams of a lasting legacy buried beneath the ruins of their fallen home.
Though they no longer hold a seat of power, the Khazdural name endures. Among dwarves, it is spoken with both pride and sorrow, a name tied to one of the greatest lost fortunes in dwarven history. Some descendants still seek to reclaim the riches left behind in Dûrthar Chasm, while others consider Karak Dûr a grave best left undisturbed, its halls now home to something far worse than orcs.
"From Rock, Gold. From Will, Glory."
Type
Geopolitical, Clan
Leader Title
Family Leader
Location
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Related Species
Comments